


Won't you be my sweetheart?

by queque



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Feelings, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Roommates, trash for friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 09:52:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queque/pseuds/queque
Summary: Look who's back with another friends to lovers story! I'm trash for them and I can't make myself be sorry about it. Let me know if you'd like more to this little story!Kudos and comments always welcome, hope y'all enjoy :)





	Won't you be my sweetheart?

**Author's Note:**

> Look who's back with another friends to lovers story! I'm trash for them and I can't make myself be sorry about it. Let me know if you'd like more to this little story! 
> 
> Kudos and comments always welcome, hope y'all enjoy :)

The constant hum of various conversations and far away music fill the space of Rey's head. She's been sitting and stewing at her local dive bar for nearly two hours now. Wondering if she's badly misread the signs over the years or if she's standing in her own way of what has always felt right.

She takes another deep gulp of her beer and signals to Maz, the eccentric elderly bar owner, for another round. Maz regards her with quiet understanding as she slides another bottle over to her.

Rey has spent the last five years living with a man who should, by all accounts, be her  _least_ favorite person on the planet but somehow became her longest obsession. She had just started working for his mother and uncle when they offered her a place to live, with the one condition of a surly roommate, and she readily agreed. With very little money and no real connections in a new city there was no way Rey could pass up a free housing opportunity like this one. Little did she know it would send her on a half-decade long journey of denying her surprising feelings for her boss's son and vainly trying not to fall any deeper than she already was.

Which explains why she's spending her Friday evening sulking at a bar and throwing back bottle after bottle to try and shut her mind up. Ben Solo was her opposite in every way imaginable. Rey grew up in a bleak childhood setting but tried everyday to find the light and good in the world. Ben was raised in what seemed like a perfect household but held such a negative view of everything around him it was infuriating. He  _loved_ keeping people at arms length, loved being the dark figure of everyone's story. In retrospect, it probably made it easier for him to cope with his own emotional misgivings but it still frustrated her nonetheless. 

Rey on the other hand  _thrived_ from the new friendships and connections she's made from working for the Organa-Solo Environmental Foundation. She gained a set of close friends who loved and accepted her so fully it almost made her tear up to think about. They brought out a confidence in her that she never would have found on her own and she foolishly thought she could take these newfound feelings and use them to turn Ben's disposition around. She quickly realized that trying to change him was a moot effort but before she fully gave up on him, she started seeing through his cracks. That thick armor he wore to keep everyone away held little slips of a soft and lonely man hiding beneath. 

And so, without fully realizing it, Rey was drawn in completely by this mysterious broody man. They quickly realized they had much more in common than either originally thought. They understood each other's loneliness and self consciousness in a way that no one had prior. Before she knew what happened, Rey began thinking of Ben as her best friend, her confidant, her trusted partner in all things real. And he returned the sentiment. Had told her many times over the years that he never thought he'd meet someone who could accept him for what he was. That he had resigned himself to a lonely life of solitude. They meshed together seamlessly to the great surprise of is family and her friends. 

To them he was still the prickly son of a bitch who lost his temper too quickly and didn't seem to give a shit about anyone but himself and Rey. She's been trying for years to explain what she sees in him, that he's not as black and white as he likes to portray himself to be. And that she isn't either. They are both a whirlwind of the same shade of gray. 

The only person who truly understands is his mother. Not surprisingly, she's known what kind of man he is but too many bridges have been burned between them for her to try and help.

Rey begins to peel the label off her half empty beer as her mind races with memories and thoughts of the past five years. She doesn't notice the bar slowly clear out as the clock steadily ticks towards closing time. Maz gently clears her throat to get Rey's attention and she feels embarrassed that she was so lost in herself for so long. SHe downed the remainder of her beer and slid a 20 over to Maz before slowly making her way home.

Walking along the dimly lit city streets, Rey plays back the conversation she had with Ben the night prior. They had both been working late at the office, putting together a biofuel proposal that Senator Organa was planning on presenting to Congress in the upcoming weeks. It was the biggest project of the year so far and Leia put her trust in Rey and Ben to oversee it all.

They had been in the office for hours past close and all the lights were off except for the one in Ben's office. Considering it was his family's foundation, and he was the lawyer on retainer, it only made sense that he had more than just the cubicle that Rey had. They had run out of fuel, the caffeine from their previous coffee break fully worn off, and were wrapping up their work for the night.

Rey was laying across the floor, arm slung over her eyes as she waited for Ben to stop nitpicking over their proposal and finish up already. She finally heard him shut his laptop and lifted her arm off her face.

"Can we go home now?" she almost whined from her spot on the floor.

She heard a slight chuckle coming from his seat at his desk.

"Of course darling, anything for you." he drawled in a half teasing tone. Wanting to push her buttons and fire her up the way only he knew how.

She tensed as she sat up, fighting against the warmth spreading from the pet name but also angry at his mocking tone.

"You know I hate when you do that..." she muttered as she turned her back on him and began collecting her things.

"Do what sweetheart?"

She let out an exasperated breath as she turned to face him, "That! Call me those names! We both know you'd never want to call me them unless it meant trying to piss me off so just quit it!"

He stared at her with a strange look in his eyes. There seemed to be a million things passing through that stare before he slowly stood up from his seat.

"Why do you think I'd never want to call you them?" his voice was low and quiet, if it wasn't for the late hour and the office being empty she probably wouldn't have heard him.

She returned his probing gaze with one of her own. Is he really going to make her say it? As if he doesn't already know?

"Because I'm not your  _darling_...or your sweetheart..."

He regarded her with eyes that seemed to be holding back a wild storm. He walked slowly to the other side of his desk, until he was just a few inches from where Rey stood. She felt frozen in place, unsure of what he was doing or where he was planning on taking this conversation. He tentatively lifted his arm and then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before returning it to his side.

"Would it be so bad if you were?"

His words sent a ringing straight to Rey's ears. She looked up at his waiting face and suddenly felt overwhelmed. After years of forcing down unwanted feelings, they were thrust up and into the open before them. She felt dizzy and scared but before she could respond he cleared his throat and turned away from her.

"Wy don't you start the car and I'll meet you downstairs?" he said, voice laced with...disappointment?

Unable to think properly and unsure of how to proceed, Rey just nodded her agreement and walked out of his office. She cast one last look back at Ben as he stood stoic and unmoving, waiting for her to leave. 

\----

Rey grimaced to herself and pulled her jacket tighter as she neared their apartment. How could she have been so stupid? The opportunity presented itself and like a coward she just let it pass by. She remembered how cold and detached he felt during the  _very_ awkward drive home. How he resigned to his room immediately after arriving and didn't show his face again until having to leave for work the next morning. She kicked herself all night. Fought the urge to bust his door down and profess her love for him. She even got as close as standing outside his bedroom with a raised hand, ready to knock, before falling victim to her cowardice and returning to her room.

Rey unlocked the door and found Ben had passed the evening away in a similar fashion to hers. He was asleep on the couch, empty beer bottles littering the coffee table, and the TV set to a low volume, creating a steady hum through the space. He was still in his work clothes, tie loosened and button down crumpled, but his shoes and jacket were off. He must have kicked them off when he sat down and thrown the jacket over the edge of the sofa. He looked so peaceful when he slept, all those worry lines and hard edges smoothed over as he breathed steadily. She was lost in a trance almost as she watched the easy rise and fall of his chest.

She truly never stood a chance when it came to Ben. He was everything she didn't think she needed and more. Gorgeous, intelligent, and headstrong yes; but also understanding, resilient, and sometimes even surprisingly funny. She watched him for a few more seconds before moving to the table and quietly collected his finished beer bottles. She began to tidy up the living area when she realized he was awake and silently watching her. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you..."

He blinked at her slowly then rose up to a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She had finished cleaning up the table and was about to head to her room when she felt Ben grab her wrist to stop her. She looked down in surprise and then up to his face only to find a burning behind his eyes.

"Rey...I need to tell you something. About last night." he whispered in a gravelly voice from just being asleep moments ago.

"Ok." she said breathlessly as she sat beside him on the couch.

He stared at her for a while before mimicking his actions the night prior and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He took a deep breath and returned his hand to his lap.

"I don't call you those names to make you angry...I call you them because it's the closest I'll get to feeling like you're mine."

Stunned. Again. He had a knack for saying the unexpected and Rey was positive that he wouldn't be this forthcoming if it wasn't for the liquid courage he had that night. 

She opened and closed her mouth, unable to articulate the whirlwind of emotions passing through her at his words. She finally took a deep breath and carefully reached out to grab his hand.

"It only hurts me to hear those names because of how much I want them to be real..."

His head snapped up to hers and they both just sat in silence as they let each other's confessions wash over them.

"So you're telling me you  _do_ want to be my sweetheart then?" he smirked as he said this and she couldn't stop the silly grin forming on her face even if she tried.

"Somehow, someway Solo. I do. I have for a long time now." was her whispered response and this time it was his turn to grin like a fool.

They both slowly leaned into each other, closing the space before their lips touched in the lightest of touches. Ben groaned slightly before threading his hands into her hair and pulling her in for a more forceful kiss. One with all the pent up emotions and feelings that are finally free to come to the surface. 

The kiss grew more heated and they both wrapped themselves around each other as they poured years of mutual pining into searing kisses. Gasps and moans filled the quiet apartment as they both began to lose what little control they had. Suddenly Rey pulled back, staring into the blown out pupils of the man she loves, and just held his face in her hands for a few soft moments.

"What do we do now?" she said breathless from their kiss and from the moment itself.

"Take it to my room?" he asked with that smirk that has haunted her dreams for far too long now.

She squealed when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, walking through the dimly lit halls of their shared home. He bust his door down in the same way Rey imagined herself doing the night before and the smile that spread across her face was the biggest she's worn in a very long time. 

 


End file.
